That Which Does Not Kill You...
Tonight marks an important anniversary for me. I'll never forget this day and what it's done for me. I hope someone reads this and remembers what's important in life.
Six years ago today, I got a second chance at life. At approximately 12:00 midnight on February 22 (going on the 23), 1998, a tornado swept through my Kissimmee, Florida neighborhood. We had no warning because the weatherman was saying that the storm was much further north than it really was. It was storming badly at my house, the wind literally howling and the lightening poping around us like strobe lights. The power went out and my brother go up (then he was 6, I was 11) to go to my parent's room. Unable to sleep, I went also. My mom fixed my brother a bed on the couch outside their room and I sat with him. As she was telling us good-night, she happened to look through the living room curtains. I never saw what she saw, but I'm glad I didn't. All I heard was her say, "Oh shit. Get into the hallway, now!" Calling my dad, she ran to her room and I dragged my brother to the hallway, not knowing exactly why. My parents made it to the hallway where we were down on our hands and knees. My mom told my brother and I to put our hands over our heads. I asked why and she told me, "A tornado's coming. I love you sweetie..." Seconds later I heard glass shatter and the walls shake, the pictures on them of our family falling around us. The last thing I felt before I was thrown into the air was the floor trembling and the house exploding from the outside pressure, sending the four of us in different directions.
I believe God was watching over us that night, because miraculously we all survived. I woke up floating in the ditch beside our house, hearing my dad calling my name. He pulled me out of the water and I saw what was left of our house...nothing. There wasn't anything left anywhere except for the neighbor's houses down the road, which had gone untouched. I heard the thunder, distant now, and people screaming. The rain was still pounding. I'll never get that sight out of my memory. I didn't see my mother and asked where she was, frantic. My dad told me that she was okay and waiting for him up the bank a little ways. All four of us had landed in the water, only feet from each other. My dad told me to take my brother and go to the neighbor's house. I did, leading Taylor around glass, people's belongings, and live electric wires. We made it and our neighbors were waiting for us. They had called 911, they said, and help was on the way. I sat on their couch with my brother and waited for my dad to come in with my mom. When he did, he brought her to the couch opposite ours and laid her down. She was breathing strangely, like she was struggling. that my mother had fractured all of her ribs on her left side, both lungs had collapsed, her scapula broke, along with her pelvic bone, and her spleen had ruptured. Neighbors started coming in to wait with us. My dad went back outside to help look for survivors, which were few. He himself had a fractured neck, but managed to lift a wall off of our elderly neighbor, who was trapped beneath it. It was minutes later when I looked down at myself and realized that I had a very large cut on my left leg. I saw the skin and tissue inside torn, but it didn't hurt really. In fact, I didn't feel much at all. I wasn't scared either. I tried to keep my brother awake, in case he had any head injuries. It turned out that he had sustained a concussion and had internal complications from the pressure changes in the tornado.
The air paramedics and an ambulance came, taking my mom first. After they came back, my brother and I went next in the helicopter. My dad had to ride in the ambulance. I was separated from my parents once we were all taken to the hospital. Going down the hallway in a stretcher, I remember hearing people moaning and yelling in pain. I remained quiet, waiting for a doctor to see me. My grandma came moments later, after receiving a phone call about us. She stayed with my brother, who was in the cubicle next to me, and I until the doctors came. I don't remember much else about the emergency room. After we were checked out, we were put into our own rooms in the ER. It was there that another doctor came in and said she was going to clean out my leg wound and sew it up. She gave me laughing gas and I actually watched her stitch my leg up. My brother had to have minor back wounds closed up, but other than that, we were both okay. I was released from the hospital, but my brother had to stay overnight because he was so young and had a head injury. Taylor came home the next day though.
When I was released, it hit me that I had nothing. I had the hospital gown on my back and that was all. I went to live with my grandma in her small home, as did the rest of my family when they were released. When it came time for my brother's check-up, my grandma took me along. She was a retired nurse and was concerned about my leg because it looked red and swollen beneath the bandages. My brother was fine, all of his wounds had healed nicely. When the doctor took off my bandages though, he looked at me for a moment with this stange look in his eyes. He turned to my grandma and told her I had to go to the OR immediately. I whirlwind of things happened and the next thing I remember, I was waking up from my surgery. The doctors had had to debreed my leg, meaning the took lots of dead tissue out and cleaned it. It turned out that I had a bacteria that was in my leg's tissue tha was spreading to my bone. If it had reached the bone, I could have lost my leg. I went through a week in the hospital and three weeks of painful out-patient therapy where I had my leg cleaned every day and learned to walk again without my crutches.
My family was back together once I came home. We were battered, but together. We had nothing anymore. No place to live, no clothes, nothing to our name. Thankfully my grandmother supported us through this time, while we put out lives back together. It was a long, hard process. We got no support from the state because we had had insurance. Our insurance didn't do much for us though. It took awhile, but we found a new home here in Orlando and began to build a new life here. I believe things happen for a reason. This time I think it happened so a lesson could be learned. While material things are nice to have, they're not what's important. It's your family and the people who love you that matter most. Below are some pictures of the tornado's aftermath. Thanks for listening...{Ashley}
Can Only Make You Stonger
Six years ago today, I got a second chance at life. At approximately 12:00 midnight on February 22 (going on the 23), 1998, a tornado swept through my Kissimmee, Florida neighborhood. We had no warning because the weatherman was saying that the storm was much further north than it really was. It was storming badly at my house, the wind literally howling and the lightening poping around us like strobe lights. The power went out and my brother go up (then he was 6, I was 11) to go to my parent's room. Unable to sleep, I went also. My mom fixed my brother a bed on the couch outside their room and I sat with him. As she was telling us good-night, she happened to look through the living room curtains. I never saw what she saw, but I'm glad I didn't. All I heard was her say, "Oh shit. Get into the hallway, now!" Calling my dad, she ran to her room and I dragged my brother to the hallway, not knowing exactly why. My parents made it to the hallway where we were down on our hands and knees. My mom told my brother and I to put our hands over our heads. I asked why and she told me, "A tornado's coming. I love you sweetie..." Seconds later I heard glass shatter and the walls shake, the pictures on them of our family falling around us. The last thing I felt before I was thrown into the air was the floor trembling and the house exploding from the outside pressure, sending the four of us in different directions.
I believe God was watching over us that night, because miraculously we all survived. I woke up floating in the ditch beside our house, hearing my dad calling my name. He pulled me out of the water and I saw what was left of our house...nothing. There wasn't anything left anywhere except for the neighbor's houses down the road, which had gone untouched. I heard the thunder, distant now, and people screaming. The rain was still pounding. I'll never get that sight out of my memory. I didn't see my mother and asked where she was, frantic. My dad told me that she was okay and waiting for him up the bank a little ways. All four of us had landed in the water, only feet from each other. My dad told me to take my brother and go to the neighbor's house. I did, leading Taylor around glass, people's belongings, and live electric wires. We made it and our neighbors were waiting for us. They had called 911, they said, and help was on the way. I sat on their couch with my brother and waited for my dad to come in with my mom. When he did, he brought her to the couch opposite ours and laid her down. She was breathing strangely, like she was struggling. that my mother had fractured all of her ribs on her left side, both lungs had collapsed, her scapula broke, along with her pelvic bone, and her spleen had ruptured. Neighbors started coming in to wait with us. My dad went back outside to help look for survivors, which were few. He himself had a fractured neck, but managed to lift a wall off of our elderly neighbor, who was trapped beneath it. It was minutes later when I looked down at myself and realized that I had a very large cut on my left leg. I saw the skin and tissue inside torn, but it didn't hurt really. In fact, I didn't feel much at all. I wasn't scared either. I tried to keep my brother awake, in case he had any head injuries. It turned out that he had sustained a concussion and had internal complications from the pressure changes in the tornado.
The air paramedics and an ambulance came, taking my mom first. After they came back, my brother and I went next in the helicopter. My dad had to ride in the ambulance. I was separated from my parents once we were all taken to the hospital. Going down the hallway in a stretcher, I remember hearing people moaning and yelling in pain. I remained quiet, waiting for a doctor to see me. My grandma came moments later, after receiving a phone call about us. She stayed with my brother, who was in the cubicle next to me, and I until the doctors came. I don't remember much else about the emergency room. After we were checked out, we were put into our own rooms in the ER. It was there that another doctor came in and said she was going to clean out my leg wound and sew it up. She gave me laughing gas and I actually watched her stitch my leg up. My brother had to have minor back wounds closed up, but other than that, we were both okay. I was released from the hospital, but my brother had to stay overnight because he was so young and had a head injury. Taylor came home the next day though.
When I was released, it hit me that I had nothing. I had the hospital gown on my back and that was all. I went to live with my grandma in her small home, as did the rest of my family when they were released. When it came time for my brother's check-up, my grandma took me along. She was a retired nurse and was concerned about my leg because it looked red and swollen beneath the bandages. My brother was fine, all of his wounds had healed nicely. When the doctor took off my bandages though, he looked at me for a moment with this stange look in his eyes. He turned to my grandma and told her I had to go to the OR immediately. I whirlwind of things happened and the next thing I remember, I was waking up from my surgery. The doctors had had to debreed my leg, meaning the took lots of dead tissue out and cleaned it. It turned out that I had a bacteria that was in my leg's tissue tha was spreading to my bone. If it had reached the bone, I could have lost my leg. I went through a week in the hospital and three weeks of painful out-patient therapy where I had my leg cleaned every day and learned to walk again without my crutches.
My family was back together once I came home. We were battered, but together. We had nothing anymore. No place to live, no clothes, nothing to our name. Thankfully my grandmother supported us through this time, while we put out lives back together. It was a long, hard process. We got no support from the state because we had had insurance. Our insurance didn't do much for us though. It took awhile, but we found a new home here in Orlando and began to build a new life here. I believe things happen for a reason. This time I think it happened so a lesson could be learned. While material things are nice to have, they're not what's important. It's your family and the people who love you that matter most. Below are some pictures of the tornado's aftermath. Thanks for listening...{Ashley}
Can Only Make You Stonger